Fall River developer envisions hotel on Providence triangle lot’

Thursday

Oct 9, 2014 at 12:01 AM

PROVIDENCE — The Providence Redevelopment Agency is about to sign a $1-million contract for the “triangle” lot downtown with a Fall River developer who envisions a hotel on the oddly shaped lot.The agency,...

Paul Grimaldi Journal Staff Writer paulegrimaldi

PROVIDENCE,R.I. — The Providence Redevelopment Agency is about to sign a $1-million contract for the “triangle” lot downtown with a Fall River developer who envisions a hotel on the oddly shaped lot.

The agency, the city’s quasi-municipal real-estate arm, controls nearly 100 acres citywide. The downtown lot is perhaps its most unusual.

On Thursday, the PRA board will decide whether to formally sign a lease with First Bristol Corp. for the vacant lot between Memorial Boulevard, Exchange Street and the U.S. Post Office. The lease is for 10 years, with a clause that gives the developer the right to purchase the lot for $1 million or more during its duration. Another clause allows the PRA to force First Bristol to pay $1 million for the lot by the time the lease ends.

The contract requires First Bristol to build “either a high-quality hotel or high-quality extended-stay hotel or another high-quality development” on the property.

“We think there is a market for an extended-stay product,” said James Karam, First Bristol’s head.

The company envisions a six-story building with 120 suites, with an estimated cost of $18 million to $20 million, Karam said.

This is the latest in a long series of plans for this small chunk of city property.

In the late 1990s, former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino Jr.’s development company was given the rights to develop the property. Paolino made a formal offer to buy the land in 2000 to develop a Hyatt hotel with condominiums on top, but was unable to bring the hotel to fruition. The city started looking for another developer in 2002.

Carpionato Properties Inc. of Johnston began looking at the property the following year, eventually offering $2.8 million. The developer planned a $40-million, 15-story, high-end hotel with condominiums. That hotel never materialized.

The site’s limitations were the main reason neither of those projects got built.

The triangular lot was created with fill material dug out of other places and carted there. The water table is high as well.

That’s why the contract with the PRA allows for a “due diligence” period during which First Bristol can drill test borings and conduct soil evaluations.

The First Bristol building may be constructed on top of pilings, with the first floor raised to allow some parking on-site.

The hotel design must pass muster with the Capital Center Commission and the Downtown Design Review Committee

“This is not a definite,” Karam said, of the project’s chances. “We’ve got to be careful about the cost.”

First Bristol is no stranger to the city.

In conjunction with Providence-based Granoff Associates, First Bristol in 2009 converted a Weybosset Street building that had once been home to Franciscan friars and a bank into the 110-room Hampton Inn & Suites hotel.

It is one of seven hotels First Bristol owns.

“We’ve been very pleased with our hotel there,” Karam said.

The Granoff company is not part of this project, Karam said. First Bristol approached the PRA on its own about building a new hotel downtown.